Ditzler elected to DIII Presidents Council

Barry McNamara

12/19/2012

Monmouth College president Mauri Ditzler has been elected one of three new members of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council.

“I am delighted by the opportunity to be even more involved with the important work of the NCAA,” said Ditzler, who directed an extensive renovation of the college’s football and outdoor track facilities, which were formally dedicated in 2009 as April Zorn Memorial Stadium. “The link between college presidents and the NCAA is a strong one. The more I learn about the association, the more I am convinced that it is sensitive and responsive to the desire of presidents to tie intercollegiate athletics to education and character development.

Also approved to join the 15-member council was UW-Platteville chancellor Dennis Shields and Debra Townsley, president of William Peace College. The terms of the three new members will extend through the NCAA’s 2017 convention.

“I think that some of the best thinking about athletics is being done at the member institutions of the Midwest Conference,” Ditzler concluded. “I look forward to the opportunity to share those ideas with a broader audience as a member of the council.”

Ditzler became Monmouth’s 13th president in 2005. A 1975 graduate of Wabash College, he earned a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Duke in 1979. Ditzler served in various capacities as a faculty member at College of the Holy Cross before being appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Millikin in 1994. In 1999, Ditzler returned to his alma mater as dean of the faculty and chief academic officer.